Diamond in the Dust
by waangfire
Summary: A newly-crowned queen trying to hold it all together...A plot to tear it all asunder...and at the center, the most treacherous tale of all: A boy, who meets a girl. [KH Elseworld]
1. There's a Storm Coming, Your Majesty

**Diamond in the Dust**

**Chapter One: There's a Storm Coming, Your Majesty**

* * *

The streets, the houses, the air of Arendelle itself was alight in activity. Positive energy emanated in waves outward from the heart of the festivities and soaked through thick brick walls down to the interior where the chambermaid set the long table, humming an old tune softly to herself.

Though she at the moment had the expansive room to herself to do her work there wasn't a second that passed that she didn't sense the hustle of those around her: floors were being swept, silvers were being wiped, passports were checked, the kitchen was ignited with chefs tasting dishes, tasting wines, tasting liquors, tasting champagnes and then tasting the liquors again for good measure.

even in the weeks and days leading up to the crowning of their newest monarch the spirit was somehow...different among the citizens of Arendelle, in a way that quite simply hadn't been felt in years, the same as if they had all been awoken from a deep, long slumber. And now that the ceremony was less than a day away that inner jubilance finally broke through the surface with flourish and vigor, yielding singing, cheering, dancing and music of all sorts conglomerating into a singular, triumphant note called joy.

She and her husband, she reflected, were mere newlyweds when they last walked together by the castle gates swung wide open; now they had a son together who, in his eleven years, has never known a world in which they were open, or why exactly it was a big deal, but nonetheless was all too happy to jump in on all the treats and fun that opened a lane for him. She imagined herself a tourist in a foreign land, and how she would respond when asked where she was from. When before, she would tell them she was from Arendelle because it just happened to be the most simple answer, today, she could tell them as such because she was _proud_ to be from Arendelle.

Letting out a satisfied breath, she stepped back and examined the spread before her, appreciating each bit of flourish and shimmer she spared it. It was a somewhat underappreciated and time-consuming art to setting a good table only exacerbated by her perfectionism and attention to detail, but she figured it was worth the extra hour of effort to ensure the centerpiece in the main dinner hall would feel a little extra special. Mentally preparing herself to repeat her success for the next dozen or so rooms and halls, she gathered her things and turned around with a youthful skip in her step only for her view to be filled entirely by a strange man staring back at her.

"_AHHH!_" The maid shrieked bloody murder and flailed back, slamming her hip roughly into the large table and sending freshly-watered flowers, freshly-flowered water and something like a combined quarter-mile of silk, cloth and décor cluttering to the ground.

"Whoa, whoa!" The man arched back, holding both hands up in a peaceful gesture. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you! Are you alright?" The woman panted and blinked several times, unwilling to either turn her eyes away from the newcomer or in any direction toward the mess pooling at her feet.

Waiting until the moment her breathing settled, he continued. "I...was just wondering if you could help me with some directions. I'm looking for Castle Arendelle, and if you could just point me in the right direction I'll just be on my way."

Focusing entirely on the young man's completely straight-faced request, the maid felt her age collect within her along with bundled interest. She relaxed her jaw and proceeded to answer his question to the best of her ability. "_Guaaaaaard!_"

* * *

"Anna! _Princess_ Anna!" The tired, slightly overworked young woman huffed as she crossed the doorway, pushing her spectacles back to her face and staring resolutely toward the corridor just as a mischievous red pigtail disappeared around the corner. "Would Your Highness _please_ just let me finish these measurements?!"

The...Highness in question failed to suppress a snicker at the footsteps approaching down the hall. She pushed her back from against the wall and stepped the other way to make her escape, only to yelp in shock as a slender pair of hands caught her by the waist. "Ah, you got me! How'd you do that?" She giggled to the seamstress before she glanced over at the room she came out of, remembering it having doors connected to both hallways. "Hey...looks like you're finally starting to learn the shortcuts!" A gruff voice sounded from inside as the royal registrar cleared his throat, evidently not incredibly pleased to have his personal office referred to as a "shortcut."

Anna smiled sheepishly back at the elderly gentleman and the seamstress took advantage of the opening, snatching the princess's arm with one hand and pulling out measuring tape with the other. "Yeah, I'm learning all about the castle thanks to having to chase you around it all the time. Honestly, would it kill you just once act your age...ma'am?" But despite her words, when their eyes met again she couldn't help but crack a small smile; her enthusiasm was just too infectious.

"Sorry...I guess I'm just excited since it's not like there are any other women my age who come the place..._case in point._" The redhead lowered her voice to a murmur, gesturing discreetly toward the record keeper as he glued himself to a stack of paperwork. "Besides, it's only been like a few months since the last measurement, what gives?"

"Okay...first of all? You're at least five years younger than me, probably closer to six as a matter of fact." The seamstress motioned for Anna to lift her arms so she could wrap around and measure the bust. "And secondly, as a younger and still-growing woman we have to make sure everything's exactly right so we can make you look your best for Her Majesty's coronation. And god knows how far into the morning we're going to be working on it what with the fabrics not coming in until the very last minute." She pursed her lips at the choice words her father shared earlier that morning. "By the way, if you want a specific color you should go ahead and tell me now."

"Oh, I'm not that worried. I know it'll look amazing regardless. But...does that mean you won't be staying long?" The princess's smile faltered.

The seamstress pushed up her glasses and responded with an apologetic look of her own. "I'm afraid not, ma'am. I've kinda already stayed longer than I planned to." To the credit of Castle Arendelle, its reputation as a tightlipped bastion of absolute seclusion was exaggerated, if only by the smallest of degrees. In any case, despite their god-knows-what reasoning as to declaring a closed gate policy thirteen years ago, the old king and queen would recognize that there were many situations that their short-handed emergency staff alone couldn't provide. After all, food has to come from somewhere, supplies have to be restocked somehow, and many things that get broken have to be fixed or replaced; and as fate would have it clothes have to be worn, so when her family was released from the direct service to the crown to the spoils of the open market they remained proud to occasionally be among the few to cross that boundary as they were called upon to freelance.

She made with the final measurements, snaking her measure around the younger girl's hip followed by the waist. "In fact, once I get ahold of the queen, that should about wrap it up for me here."

"Yeah...good luck with that one." Anna tried valiantly to disguise her melancholy to the humbled worker. Their monarch's furtive nature was far from lost on the woman, and more than once she'd left the castle wondering about the relationship between the two sisters. But not for nothing, on the rare occasion that she had the gumption to voice said thoughts, the redhead was always quick to her relative's defense, chalking it up to her always being "busy".

"Ah...I beg your pardon." The two girls perked up as the elderly registrar poked his head between them. "I couldn't help but overhear, and if my records are in order then you may in fact be _in_ luck. Her Majesty should be coming this way any moment for her appointment in an hour."

"Well I'm glad that's about to work out for you but I still wish you didn't have to...whoa, wait just a minute!" Anna frowned just as her mind caught on to the abnormality in this routine. "You said she has an _appointment?_ Since when did we start having appointments around here? For what purpose, exactly?"

"I believe that said purpose is called diplomacy."

"Your Majesty!" The seamstress bowed her head deeply for the surprise visitor coming around the corner, and in spite of her confusion the teenager couldn't help the brightening of her eyes to see the blonde woman for the first time that week...and maybe a bit longer.

"Elsa! Uh...hey. So...diplomacy huh?" Anna was suddenly struggling to find her words. "But what's so important that they couldn't come to one of the adjuncts? You'd tell me if we were at war...right?" Her mind traveled directly to the worse-case scenario, even as the prostrating woman went to plant her lips on the monarch's gloved hand, only for it to be swiftly and unnaturally jerked from her reach.

"That's quite unnecessary..._please_ rise. And no, Anna, nobody's about to go to war. At least not unless I somehow find a way to _really_ screw this up." After an excruciatingly pregnant pause in wait for the two women to do anything but stare mutely horrified at her she offered a shaky chuckle and cleared her throat. So much for humor, then. "Anyway...he claimed to be in service to the King."

"Okay..." The redhead furrowed her brow. "Which king, though? Down in the Isles? Over to the West?"

"_Anna,_ you're not getting it." Elsa stressed her next words very carefully. "I'm not talking about one of _our_ kings...I'm talking about _The_ King."

Recognition ever so slowly leaked across the girl's features. "Wait...surely you don't mean the outmost Borders...the door between worlds...you're telling me it's really real? _That_ King?"

The blonde gave her satisfied smirk. "The one and only," she confirmed, and her sister's face grew a thousand watts in an instant.

"I still don't follow...what borders?" The seamstress dared to interject, shifting her head worriedly between the two members of the royal family.

"Oh...I'm sorry," Elsa acknowledged the confused tradeswoman, "But that information is not exactly—"

"Okay! So, you know all those kingdoms that are coming to be represented and stuff for the coronation tomorrow?" Anna jumped ahead in front of her sister, bouncing fervently on the balls of her feet until the woman gave an affirmative nod of her head. "_Well_, for some reason it's completely impossible to travel too far outside those territories or at least no one's ever succeeded in trying and according to old legend it's part of a system set in place by some other unknown kingdom who made it their job to protect all the borders from threats and stuff and for all we know they're still at it to this day assuming of course it exists in the first place!"

"Wow...I-I'm not sure I've ever heard of that legend before," she stammered, eyes wide like saucers.

"Well I, for one, am sure you haven't heard it before because _nobody's_ supposed to have heard it!" Elsa crooned in a drippingly sweet tone before whipping her attention toward the younger woman. "Bless the skies, Anna! I don't know whether to be appalled or furious at you so casually divulging our family's secret oral tradition, _or_ just be impressed with you doing it in one breath!"

"I didn't think it was that big a deal," the princess attempted to reason. "To me it was just some story Papa would tell us whenever I thought monsters were hiding in the closet. I don't see what the point is in keeping that type of secret like that—"

"The point is to keep people from getting _hurt_," Elsa snapped, raising her voice to just below a full-on shout. "Just like any _other_ type of secret!"

Just where in the world did _that_ come from? "Okay! Okay! You're right, Elsa...that was thoughtless of me." Anna looked down and hugged an arm to her shoulder, withering like parchment under her sister's incomprehensibly volcanic glare. "I'm sorry...okay?" And in that instant, just as soon as it had set in, all the heat vacated the queen's countenance, leaving her slacking the tension in her fists, shoulders and jaw, unable to find words to excuse herself.

Nearly another moment passed in silence with the two women willing to look everywhere besides the face of each other. "Oh yeah!" Both queen and princess flinched as the seamstress suddenly chirped. "I almost forgot! If it would please Your Majesty, I'd still need to get your measurements...for the dress tomorrow."

Elsa hesitated, blinking her eyes rapidly before regaining her bearings. "Ah...yes, of course. Be my guest." Though she inwardly recalled having had measurements done not too long beforehand, she welcomed the woman to finish her job, thankful for her having broken the recursive loop of hurt and regret that rebounded back and forth between the two sisters.

"So..." Anna began, careful to feel for the atmosphere before diving all the way in. "How do you know they're really who they say they are?"

"Well, ideally that's what I'm meeting him to figure out. But, you have a point that it's hard to be for certain," Elsa admitted, but grew a thoughtful expression. "That being said...the way he appeared to me out of nowhere...his strange clothes and cryptic statements...and, at the very least him seeming to know about the legend at all...I don't think it's completely unsafe to assume that he's not from anywhere around here."

"You're saying he just came to you and left?" Anna wondered. "What's he like? Another stodgy old guy?"

Her sister shook her head. "Not at all, he's a pretty young guy, actually. Probably around our age."

"So a pretty young guy...a _pretty_ young guy..." Anna repeated, mulling over each syllable as it escaped her mouth. "So he's pretty then?"

"That is NOT how I meant it, Anna! And you know that, perfectly well." Sighed Elsa in exasperation, nearly moving the measuring tape out of the seamstress's hands.

"Alright, point taken...so he's _not_ pretty?" Anna pressed, raising her arms innocently.

"His attractiveness has absolutely nothing to do with the issue here!" If it hadn't been for the Southern Seas to claim him, she would swear it would be the sheer stress of having to deal with the teen's relentless boy-crazy phase to send her dearly departed father to his early grave.

"Did this happen yesterday, then? Because I think I saw him too." The seamstress gulped from her spot measuring the queen's inseam as both royals looked down at her to elaborate. "When..when I came by to try to get all this done yesterday and then you told me to hold off on it? Well, before that a guy I've never seen before came by out of nowhere...scared the daylights out of me but he said he was just leaving." She tucked away a bang of chestnut hair as Anna continued staring beseechingly. "And, um...I found him quite fetching, Your Highness."

"I _remember_ you going around yesterday and you were looking for your glasses the whole time," Elsa accused. "Can you really be so sure about that?"

"I'm still looking for them, actually." She fumbled with the hand-me-down spectacles borrowed from her father and about a size too big for her face. "And with all due respect...I stand by my assertion." A tiny smirk crept up her face.

"Let's review the facts then, shall we?" Anna said with a gleam that took Elsa off her guard. "There you were, minding your own business, when a—handsome—stranger, from a faraway, distant land appeared before you. And then he promised to come and see you again." She stepped in a semi-circle around her, eying her sister with what the blonde could only describe as a wolf-like aura. "And now you're getting ready to see him...and spend time with him..._alone_." She finished her assessment with a purr directly into the cringing older woman's ear which then gave way to a shrieking fit of teenage giggles

"I hope you realize that you're completely outside your mind right now. I really do." Elsa grimaced, and tried to not let it melt slowly into a genuine smile as it threatened to.

She picked her head up as Anna suddenly stopped jumping around and snapped a finger. "By the way, I just thought of something! Elsa, tell me a color. Any color, just the first one that pops up in your head."

"Okay...green?" The princess's ability to just stop on a dime and change gears left the blonde slightly dizzy.

"Ooh, green's a good one!" Anna smiled triumphantly, making eye contact with the equally-amused seamstress, who nodded to her non-verbal command. "Tell me, is that the color of his eyes?"

"No...as a matter of fact, they're blue." It wasn't until the words already left her mouth and her sister's smile only further deepened that Elsa realized her slip-up. "...I think."

Anna looked ready to open her mouth again, so the woman threw a hand up to stop her. "_Enough_ with the silly romance talk, okay? I just told you about how an entire kingdom nobody knows anything about outside of fairy tales actually exists, and I'm about to possibly make first contact with their representative! Does that part really not interest you at all?"

She smiled soberly, eyes from the outstretched palm to her sister's face itself. "Of course it does, Elsa. All those things are amazing...but what's even more amazing to me is seeing you actually be interested in something for once...or some_one_ for once."

At this the queen closed her eyes and drew a long, heavy breath. "The main thing I'm interested in is to know what all this could mean for the kingdom. And to learn maybe a little bit about the world outside those borders, and I'm sure you can appreciate that as well."

Anna simply shrugged. "Honestly, at this point? I'd kinda be happy to settle for learning about the world outside these castle walls...for you and I both. Wouldn't _you_ agree with that?" Another sharp wave of regret sliced through the older sister, as she inwardly became aware of her own dried lips and her hands sweating from inside their gloves.

Her mouth hung open, but she was saved from being forced to think of something to say by an approaching chambermaid, stumbling and out of breath. "Your Majesty! Ma'am, we have an intruder! I don't know where he came from but he said he was here to see you!"

"He's here already?!" Elsa whipped around to where the middle-aged lady stood panting, subconsciously reaching to fix her bun.

"Uh...yes, ma'am." The maid looked confused but at the same time relieved to see the queen's recognition. "There's a guard holding him at the foyer."

The blonde nodded in response. "Tell the guard to stand down...for now at least, he is our guest. And let him know I'll come down to receive him in just a moment." She commanded, looking for all the world like someone who didn't just catch her heart in her throat, and the chambermaid obliged.

As she stepped in the maid's direction to follow in that direction, she suddenly turned again, looking to face the seamstress and registrar, who again poked his head at the sound of more commotion. "Not one word of this conversation leaves this hallway," she intoned, sharing a severe expression between the two underlings. "And that is an order, is that understood?" She waited until they mutely affirmed, and then turned her back and began walking away.

"Elsa, _wait_—"

"If you'll please excuse me, princess." She turned the corner without breaking stride, and was gone to the teen completely from sight.

"Okay, bye..." Anna murmured to the air, at that moment becoming aware of it's stuffy and enclosed feel. "Nearly thought we bonded there for a second, silly me..."

The sound of rustling fabrics caused her to look around and locate the seamstress, still kneeling down and gathering her materials. "Looks like you're about done here too, huh?" The older lady straightened her glasses and slowly nodded. "Well, then thanks for your work. I'll be seeing you around sometime...I guess."

She pressed her lips together, taking in the princess's vaguely pained expression before coming to a decision. "Well...Mama and Papa will probably be wanting to work on them both, but after we lay down the foundations I bet they'd just focus on Her Majesty's outfit anyway. I could try to talk them into letting me put the finishing touches on it myself and come back tonight and use the sewing room here..." She faltered suddenly looking up to see the teen's face brighten a few degrees. "That is...if Your Highness approves, of course."

Anna gathered her into a tightly squeezed hug, nearly making the glasses fall yet again from her face. "Yes, of course! I'll let the guards know you'll be coming so they won't throw you in jail!" With renewed vigor, she dashed down the corridor and disappeared around the other corner. "Hey!" The seamstress turned again before leaving to see the girl stick just her head out. "Green dress, okay? Don't forget!"

She softly chuckled and signaled a thumbs up.

* * *

"I must say we _have_ to stop running into each other like this." Elsa slowly crossed the stairs down to the ground floor of the foyer, selecting to make her entrance known with a dry, playful quip. Still, as her new guest looked up with a striking glance to meet her own she had to swallow as a hot, prickling sensation dotted across her face. _Damn you Anna for putting such silly ideas in my head!_

The young man chuckled, even as the sound of shifting metal echoed as the guard behind him tensed up. "Actually, that sounds like a great idea, Queen Elsa. I, for one, hope it turns out that way."

"I should remind you for full disclosure that technically speaking, I haven't become queen _just_ yet" She'd bounded the final step, crossed the length of the large room in smooth, confident steps to face the man in its center. Without shoes on, she figured she'd go up to just past his chin. "If I may beg your pardon, I don't recall asking how I should refer to you. Shall I call you an envoy, or emissary perhaps?"

At this he ran his hand across the back of his head, evidently not entirely comfortable with the suggestion. "Eh...I'm not that great with things like titles, to be honest with you. If it's not too much trouble, I'd rather just go by Riku."


	2. Don't Go Chasing Portals

**Diamond in the Dust**

**Chapter Two: Don't Go Chasing Portals**

* * *

_The Day Before_

It all started with a blinking blue dot.

The last handful of weeks proved somewhat quiet around the Magic Kingdom, tensely so, and when the radar pinged up activity, and at that for a completely uncharted sector, it was cause for more than a single quirked eyebrow. While the details were unclear, it could be surmised that someone, somewhere within those borders successfully opened a Corridor of Darkness, and when the usual trio geared themselves for adventure the elder of the two masters called an audible and volunteered himself to take point. After all, he knew the enigmatic gateways better than anyone on the Islands or in the Castle, which was about as well he figured they _could_ be known, and perhaps his expertise could reject the possibility of a false positive.

"Besides," He threw a cocky smirk over his shoulder to the sour mop of brown hair sitting at the console as he prepared to disembark. "I can't just sit around and let you have _all_ the fun...Don't wait up!" He took a running start and jumped from the Gummi platform and through the border only to come out the other side flying straight through a wall of stone and snow, tumbling over and sliding face-first across several yards of ice before numbly coming to a stop. When the passerby arrived a few minutes later, it was difficult to notice a person being there through the light dusting of fresh snow powdered on his prone form.

"Can't let you have _all_ the fun," Riku mocked darkly to himself as he tried to huddle as much of his body as possible into contact with the bonfire's revitalizing warmth. "I thought it was supposed to be the middle of summer out here."

His savior belted a hearty laugh, and to the silver-haired man's irritation his steed growled in a low tone that he could swear was imitating him. "My friend, I'm sorry to say we only get one season this far up North." He jerked a thumb behind him where he noticed a path of forest in the far off distance. "You'd need to go back down to civilization to enjoy all that...you're not from around here, are you?"

"What makes you think I'm not?" Riku replied guardedly.

"I don't think _anyone_ from around here would even own a piece of clothing without there being some sleeves on it." The large man scoffed immediately at his bluff. "Where are you from, really? What's all this about?" Despite his questions, he conversed with the Keyblade master with an air of friendliness and genuine curiosity rather than suspicion.

"Uh, I'm with the...Border Patrol." Riku figured a half-truth would be enough to send the picture, and smoothly transitioned to a topic not about himself. "What do _you_ do out here?"

"Me? My job, mostly. I'm an ice farmer...the name's Kristoff, by the way, and this big guy over here is Sven." He reached out with a mitted palm, and the smaller man couldn't help a grin as the reindeer lifted its front hoof to mimic. "Border Patrol, huh? I didn't know they even bothered setting up a border around here."

"I'm Riku...and let's just say there are borders all over the place. Everywhere you could think of." He took out his own hand and exchanged greetings with them both. "By the way, you haven't happened to have seen anything weird around lately, have you? Specifically, of the black and creepy variety?"

"Um, now that you mention it...those things behind you look pretty black and creepy to me." Kristoff and Sven looked over his shoulder eyes wide like saucers.

"What?!" The Way to the Dawn materialized in Riku's hands as he whipped around just in time for it to clash against dark steel. "You guys, stay behind me!"

He leapt to avoid another assault and rolled upon his landing, creating enough space to survey his opponents, some Invisibles and maybe a half-dozen Darkballs. He readied a stance with his Keyblade when a far-off wave of power crashed into his palette. _This smell... a Corridor!_

He changed gears on a dime, bashing two of the approaching ball-shaped Heartless and taking off running. "Find some shelter!" he cried out to the larger man and his pet. "Just go lay low for a while!"

"Yeah...shelter," Kristoff ran his eyes across the blank white expanse as Riku's form faded into the distance, the black creatures hot in pursuit. "Will do."

Riku pumped his legs as fast as he could, following the powerful trail like a bloodhound even as an Invisible's blade nicked the air centimeters wide from his face. _This is no random attack...I'm being targeted. _He skidded on his heels to a stop as the pulsating column finally came into view, a figure within it just barely visible.

He turned and regarded the gathered crowd of Heartless for the slightest moment before leaping again, magic energy welling into his arms and shoulders. _Have to finish this quickly._ He released the pressure in one swing, crashing meteor-shaped bolts below onto the icy surface and leaving just purple smoke in the creatures' wake.

And without hesitating he was at full sprint again, scent growing weak in his nostrils. _Don't lose this lead, Riku. Have to make it, have to make it...!_

He dived for the corridor, feeling triumph mixed with an acute chill as his fingers dipped into the inky blackness, soon traveling up his arms and then his entire body, vision closing out completely as the portal shut behind him...only to open once more seconds later, ejecting him from oblivion and sending him tumbling over a hard, marble surface.

Riku groaned and rolled over, adjusting his senses to his new surroundings, the shaded sun and warm, enclosed space sending a shock to his bearings. An overturned table wheeled slightly on its side in his periphery; he focused on its wavy, back and forth pattern to help his vertigo.

"AHHH!" That is, until a panicked shriek broke his reverie as he jumped to his feet, Keyblade at the ready. _Oh crap...those Invisibles must've survived the hit and followed me here!_ He narrowed his eyes as the three dark figures loomed over the other person in the room, a blonde female, backing up into her bed as tendrils of darkness swirled about them. The Heartless in the lead raised its sword and Riku tensed his legs to leap and intercept.

"No! _Get the hell away from me_!" And then Riku's vision grew white and chills impacted his body as the room filled with frost, forcing him to turn away. When he looked again he blinked as huge spikes of ice penetrated from the floor and through the Heartless, eliciting a dull groan before the beats collapsed into plumes of smoke. The air filled with an aura of strong, yet delicate and ephemeral mystique.

Riku numbly stepped out over the table, unable to hide his awe. "Whoa..." he breathed softly, causing the girl to jump back and gasp, throwing up a palm in his direction. "No, wait! I'm not with those things!"

The woman balled her fist, making the ice shards on the ground grow longer and even more wicked. "What are you doing here?"

"I-I guess I got here by accident," Riku stammered. "I was uh...trying to chase after somebody and—"

"_Get the hell out of my castle!_" She squeezed her eyes shut and a large snowflake pattern formed on the wall behind her.

_Castle...I'm in a castle?_ "Please wait! Uh—" Riku wracked his mind to think quickly, "—I come to you in the service of King Mickey!"

A pause. She lifted her head up, confusion replacing panic upon her soft features. "What? King _who?_"

Riku gulped, sensing the tension ebb somewhat away from the room. "King...Mickey." _So much for having a _secret _mission._ "My colleagues and I are tasked with protecting the outer borders that surround this land along with all others..." He gestured toward the pile of shards across the room, where the smoky remains of the Invisibles were all but dissipated. "...from creatures like those."

"The outer borders...the King who protects the world..." She muttered wondrously, recognition dawning within her. "It's just like my father's stories...how can you know that story...?"

"Because it's not a story, I'm afraid...not in my experience." The Keyblade master shifted uncomfortably as the woman held her head in her hands. "Look...obviously I came at a bad time, and I understand this is a _lot_ to take in for you, so I'm gonna go...but I have to come back and talk to you about all this, because your people _could_ be in danger...and I take it you _are_ the ruler of this land, right?"

She raised her head to him again and brushed a stray blonde lock looming over her face. "...One of them, yes. Elsa. Queen of Arendelle."

"Well then, Queen Elsa..." Riku nodded. "Those creatures, I can tell you there will probably be a lot more where they came from. And I don't know if they'll ever stop coming if I don't help and _make_ them stop." He narrowed his brow as she began to climb out of her bed. "So...please tell me you'll help me out on this."

The ice in the room had just about dissipated, returning the room to its normal temperature, and the woman named Elsa rose on her feet to her full height, leaving Riku for the first time with an enduring impression of regality befitting a ruler. "So be it. You will return to these grounds at noon tomorrow, where I shall receive you...we have much to discuss." He sighed in relief and went to escape through the door. "...And what am I to call you?" she asked as he swung it open.

The silver-haired man looked over his shoulder and smiled. "Riku," he called out and ran across the threshold. She furrowed her brow, making a mental note to add the appointment to her ledger for the first time in her life, and also cancel all her preparations for the day, correctly anticipating herself to spend much of it trying badly not to freak out over the information she had to process.

_Still..._

She gave a small smirk of her own and slammed the door shut to his retreating back.

* * *

"Hellooo?" The seamstress called out to nobody in particular, searching empty hallway after empty hallway. "Has anybody seen either of Her Majesty or Her Highness? _Or_ my glasses?"

She peaked her head into a room at random, finding it vacant as well. "I kinda have to get these dresses done by the coronation...god, where did everybody goooAHH!"

She jumped back and shouted to the man standing right behind her as she turned to face the hallway again. "Lord, don't scare me like that!" she gasped to the tall silver-haired blur, but still managing to give a small, nervous smile afterward. "I d-don't think I've seen you around here before...could I help you find something, maybe?"

He tilted his head down to meet the mousy tradeswoman. "Oh no, I was actually just leaving..." Xemnas smiled to her apologetically. "Sorry to scare you."


	3. Open Door Policy

**Diamond in the Dust**

**Chapter Three: Open Door Policy**

* * *

A ginger eyebrow twitched. Shadows weaved in and out of the sunlight, causing Princess Anna's eyelids to flutter open. "Mm?"

She rolled her back over into the couch seat and saw only Joan of Arc, holding the same heroic pose that captured the young woman's attention years before. She blinked, and then stared in confusion until the vague, distant sound of chatter turned her ear, as she peeked above the armrest to spy two pale-haired figures just as they disappeared down the adjacent hallway: her sister, followed by a man she'd never seen before, tall and slim, though his non-sleeved top displayed for the world the definition of his arms and shoulders. She couldn't help but to crack a small smile.

And then her concentration was broken as a series of heaving grunts got her attention; a pair of burly gentlemen passed the pair and now headed down the room in her direction, between them a large oaken barrel in their hands. She could hear the contents splash inside as the workers struggled past her.

Her smile twisted into a predatory grin.

* * *

Riku's body tensed as he caught movement from right in the corner of his eye, only to relax his guard and berate himself for nearly taking the head off the poor girl as she jumped from the couch adorning the room to stalk off in the other direction. "I'm sorry...come again?" Ever since the young Keyblade master arrived within the castle walls he'd been unable to shake off an acute apprehension, feeling his senses bolstered and on high alert.

And for some reason he wasn't entirely sure it had to do with the threat of Heartless looming over his person. "I said...let's get down to business, Riku." Elsa quirked her brow as she swung open the door leading ever deeper within her domain. "Cutting to the chase...are my people in danger?" She beckoned him through the doorway, voice hushed to a terse whisper.

Riku cleared his throat and followed her lead. "It's...a bit complicated," he said, "but for now, let's say that they're not in _immediate_ danger."

He looked back as the queen focused her cool blue gaze, pressing him to elaborate. "Okay, so...those creatures—Heartless, we call them—they thrive in the Darkness, the margins between the borders. There are pathways you can take using those margins, like the one I just used to enter this castle, but as fearsome as they can be, at their nature the Heartless are far too base and instinctual as life forms to know how to bypass those walls on their own...it's why the walls were put up in the first place, at least as far as we can figure."

Elsa chewed her lip, narrowing her eyes in thought. "So these Heartless can't get through..." she waded through the waters of his explanation. "...Unless something's there to help them through?"

"Or some_one_." Riku finished. "That's why it ultimately doesn't matter how many you strike down that get through. Whoever it is that's opening the gateway for them can just keep doing so until he eventually gets what he wants."

"And...what could he possibly want?"

He shrugged. "There are a lot of things they could be after, but worst case scenario? It's possible they're targeting the borders themselves."

"Target...the borders." Queen Elsa repeated with some difficulty. "As in, they want to take them down? What happens then?"

"A world of chaos." The Keyblade master responded, a grim look on his face. "The Heartless are ravenous beings, and they seek out the darkness in all things, sentient or otherwise. Without the walls to hold them back, every heart in the vicinity will get devoured."

He swallowed heavily. "The last outbreak like that happened around five years ago...the Heartless overran an entire country, and then they went on and nearly invaded every nation afterward." He looked up again and met her gaze. "We could've lost everything to them. It's how I ended up working for the King in the first place."

The blonde woman shut her eyes, shying away from the severity of Riku's expression. "Someone would go through all that effort to destroy their own home? Destroy our home? I don't understand...what could they possibly have to gain from that?"

To her slight relief Riku turned away, examining the suit of armor stationed against the wall. "There's a...terrorist cell we've been chasing leads after the last couple of years." He trailed a finger down the metal chestpiece. "The Organization. No known allegiance with any nation, and they believe once the Darkness has run wild and covered over everything, they'll then reach the heart of everything...that's what they're after...for whatever that will get them."

Elsa had taken to the nearby staircase, and waited with a hefty amount of curiosity. "What is it about hearts? Why the fascination?"

Riku grinned slightly to himself as stepped up alongside her. "This might be a bit too abstract and spiritual for you to take seriously...but hearts are powerful. That's what it always comes down to with these guys, is power." He explained as he held a fist to his own chest. "And that's why we continue to beat them...because they haven't realized that hearts are powerful because of all the things they can do that have nothing to do with power, ironically enough."

She simply stared. "I'm sorry, but I think that's the most ridiculous thing you've said to me yet." She cracked an incredulous smirk, but the silver-haired man caught the good nature hidden underneath the brightening of her eyes.

"Yeah...I guess you'd had to have been there." Riku replied comfortable to her amusement, moving steadily up the stairs. "Anyway, I'm here to make sure none of that unpleasantness happens. Think of the Heartless like a termite infestation...I track it all down to the source, snuff it out, we all live happily ever after, sound good?"

"Fair enough. I do have one question, though...what's a termite?" Elsa blinked and held a completely blank expression, and it was enough to make the seasoned warrior throw his head back and laugh from his belly, with enough force that the blonde woman couldn't help but chortle lightly to herself as well.

She reached the top of the stairs where her servant Kai waited for her as he bowed stiffly. "Your Majesty," he said, and the queen mouth formed a soft circle as if just remembering something.

"Ah, yes...thank you, that will be all." The waiter made off to his business, an oddly pleased expression gracing his face as he passed the pair and bounded the staircase. "And thank you, for finally giving us an insight to the outside world." She returned her attention to the tall man, stopping him beside the doorway to the nearest room. "And yet, there are so many more questions out there...I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious to ask them to you."

"That seems to be how most people I meet feel on some level," he replied. "Heck, it's how _I_ felt when I first started," he added nostalgically before making his offer. "Anything you want to ask me, I'll try to answer as best as I can."

"Then..." Elsa paused, pondering deeply on her own actions...whether she knew what she was getting herself into.

Whether or not it bothered her that she didn't.

The man blinked and tilted his head slightly to the side before she set her jaw and started again. "Then, would you care to join me for lunch?"

"...It would be an honor, Your Majesty." Riku smiled again as he reached for the doorknob, blinking as she reached at the same time. He stared in wonder as his hand lingered on top of hers, feeling the unnatural coolness of her glove against his palm.

Elsa smiled nervously and averted her gaze as she turned the knob and gently nudged the door open, moving her appendage away. "After you." Riku wordlessly entered the room, and the queen, hand to her chest, soothing out his dress, settling her breath, took her time before following suit, door closing behind her with a satisfying click.

* * *

A spire of darkness erupted from the palace floor, in a certain place, deep in the heart of nowhere. A person stepped from the black shroud, heels clicking rapidly against marble as he crossed the bridge between himself and his confederate.

"That was not a risk that needed to be taken." A voice rumbled, in a voice barely above a growl

"A calculated risk—"

"Like hell it was!" A shadow flared up and towered ominously. "We are not yet equipped to face Castle Disney head-on like this. And all you've accomplished is bringing us attention!"

"_And_ we've now learned of their queen. In my opinion, she's the real danger to our plan, not the boy..." The man brought a hand to his face, stroking his own chin. "She is formidable."

The shadow settled down somewhat, relaxing back to the floor. "You would do well not to underestimate _either_ of them...but your concern is noted. I'll figure out how to deal with the queen. And what of your end of the bargain? Did you actually manage to accomplish what we came here for, or was _that_ too hard for you?"

"Ah, yes...it is as you suspected. The test was a success."

"Good...then it's settled." The figure turned and walked away, as another corridor opened in front. "We're going ahead of schedule...figure out a way to infiltrate that castle," was the last thing the man heard before the Darkness dissipated and he was by himself.

He stood in devilish delight as a reddish haze blanketed his vision. "I believe I already have something in mind..."

* * *

"So, in my father's stories he would often mention this...'doorway' to another world." The room wafted in the warm scent of currants and bergamot as Elsa poured another cup of tea for herself and her visitor. "But there's not literally a door, is there?"

"Eh...sort of." Riku pondered her question as he took the cup, the delicate ceramic material feeling awkward in his battle-worn hands. "There _is_ a door, but it's not the sort of thing we use to travel or anything."

"Oh?" She blew across the surface and took a sip.

"Yeah...most of the time, you'd never even see it. Not unless you're really unlucky, at least." The woman looked at him quizzically. "...Let's just leave it at that," he finished, holding an expression she couldn't identify.

"Well...it's fascinating nonetheless," Elsa transitioned to another topic. "All of this, it's so very fascinating." She was thankful for the patience the young man showed in guiding her through so many wonders alien to her and the entire world she knew, technologically—a clock tower that touched the sky, a hooded man serving as guardian—geographically-a kingdom surrounded by a beach without water—and spiritually—a river deep underground flowing with the souls of the dearly departed. "And you're _sure_ you won't get in trouble for telling me about all of this?"

"Technically? I'm not supposed to be telling you about _any_ of this." Riku shrugged, drawing a sip from his own cup and withholding a grimace. "_Including_ King Mickey. But yesterday you kinda forced my hand, and since that happened I don't honestly see the point in withholding any of this other stuff from you."

She snorted softly, looking down at his teacup as he dumped roughly a king's ransom of sugar cubes inside. "Ah, yes. That really was..._quite_ an alarming thing to wake up to."

Her smile grew slightly pensive. "And I apologize. Truly, I do. I, if anyone, realize the importance of keeping certain things secret...and then I go and compel you to unravel some of yours. Do forgive me."

Riku spared a look out the window and noted her sincerity by the way her guards stood watch outside, and her personnel continued making preparations all around them, ever relaxed and mundane; besides the ceremony looming near and of course his sudden appearance past the gates, it seemed to be a day to them much like any other. "You really haven't told anyone about the Heartless."

Elsa ran a finger along the edge of her plate. "Of course...at least not until I've learned all the facts. It does the kingdom no good to act out of passion."

A thought suddenly came to the Keyblade master, and he leaned forward to venture a guess. "You haven't told anyone about your sorcery either...have you?"

The monarch flinched as if his words struck across her face. But she collected herself, gripping the corners of the table and drawing a sharp breath, knowing all along this moment would come. "_Nobody _can know about that." When she next opened her eyes, they fixed upon his with a severe expression. "Not one person in Arendelle, not ever. Okay?"

"Okay! I won't tell anyone," Riku replied, taken aback by the blonde woman's unveiled intensity. "But...I don't understand why it has to be like that."

Elsa relaxed somewhat, returning her hands to her lap. "Like I said before...it's important to keep some things secret."

"Well yeah, when it comes to foiling international terrorists and maniacs or preventing mass hysteria I'm right there with you," Riku furrowed his brow at her logic. "But your friends...your family even?"

He attempted to reason as such, but the queen of Arendelle sat still, stoic and stubbornly refusing to meet him again at his face, and he sighed. "Look...it's not my place to tell you how to live your life. Obviously. But..." he trailed off and gave her the opportunity to look back up. "...you can't tell me it doesn't feel just a little bit good to have even one person who knows your secret."

Elsa considered Riku's assertion for a tortuous moment before her shoulders sagged and blew out a puff of air. "Yeah," she said at last, a sad smile on her face. "...I guess it does."

* * *

"No kidding? You're actually being serious right now?" There was something about watching playful skepticism drown his best friend's features all over the screen that threatened to cast shade upon Riku's good mood. After years of having been forced by circumstance to interact with the outside world, some of the grander minds within Disney Castle began to pool their knowledge for new innovations, the current favorite being abused among the Wielders on the front line being the Two-Way Magic Mirror.

The fair-haired young man pinched the bridge of his nose. "'Am I being serious' about what, Sora?"

The other Keyblade master shifted in his seat, brunette spikes bobbing slightly. "So you go off on this solo mission—the mission you _volunteered_ for, might I add—and when you touch down the first thing you do is score a date with their queen?"

"Sora it's _not_ like that—"

"Come on man, how cute is she?" Riku recalled hearing about a magic cat on a certain world whose smile Sora was probably doing a good job imitating at the moment. "You can tell me, I won't judge—OW! Ow ow ow! I'm not bullying him, okay?!"

The older man silently praised whatever offscreen force twisted at the brunette's earlobe. "It was not a date, Sora!"

He stuck his tongue out to, presumably, someone standing across the room before looking back to the screen. "Alright, whatever dude. So what'd you do after you left the castle?"

"Um..." Riku rolled his eyes over the wide space of his surroundings from his spot on the bed. "Actually...I'm still at the castle. Queen Elsa gave me a room for the night once I agreed to attend her coronation ceremony." His friend just stared incredulously. "What? Am I just supposed to say no to that?"

Sora then faced him with a surprisingly sober expression for the youthful master. "Riku...are you sure you're doing this just because you _have_ to, for your mission? And not because you personally want to?"

The silver-haired man sighed harshly. "You're not understanding me. That woman is..._powerful_. For god's sake, she killed three Invisibles with one blow. With a wave of her hand, even. Can you do that? I certainly can't."

"An Invisible, huh?" Sora blinked. "I haven't seen one of those in a while."

"And not only that, but the smell of magic is coming off her like a geyser. It's overpowering, even when she's trying to hide it...which would be almost all of the time."

"That...sounds impressive, but I don't think I'll ever get used to you smelling magic on people." The younger master couldn't help but turn his nose up at Riku's latent talent. "Like, do I have a smell? Or Donald, or Kairi or whoever else?"

"Well, it doesn't really work like that," Riku replied. "There's a big difference between someone who's trained in magic and someone who's just naturally embedded in it."

"So what, like...the Genie then?"

"Nah, genies are kind of their own personal kind of weird," he ticked off on his hand thoughtfully. "Same goes with Xehanort. No, there are only two people I know personally who are as powerful as I sense Queen Elsa could be, potentially. One is Master Yen Sid...as the other, we both know her all too well..."

Sora raised an eyebrow in confusion before recognition dawned on his face. "Maleficent," he said in a strained whisper and the older man nodded. "That's...kind of an extreme dichotomy."

"I'll say." Riku scratched the back of his head. "And worse yet, she's trying to handle everything herself. She's _been_ trying to do it all herself, in fact." He looked back at his friend, breathing deeply. "And I know as well as anyone how stressful and dangerous it can be to try to face the darkness without a friend by your side. And _nobody_ deserves to have to take it upon themselves to try. So I'm gonna help her however I can."

"Okay Riku, I get it." Sora grinned and held up a hand amiably. "You don't have to justify yourself with me, I trust you. It's your mission, handle it your own way."

Riku smiled back, feeling the tension edge away from his shoulders. "Thanks, Sora."

"Oh, by the way! Speaking of Genies..." Sora changed the subject. "Just guess where I'm headed to next? Just when I finished getting all the sand out of my clothes?" he asked with a wide, sardonic grin.

Riku immediately figured it out. "Agrabah again? What is it about that place that keeps attracting Heartless like this?"

Sora just shook his head. "Maybe they just like dry climates? Anyway, that's where I'm about to go meet up with Kairi. And by the way, I'm sure she'll be happy to hear you doing well on your mission." He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I think she's been worried about you—"

The silver-haired man snorted. "Whatever."

"—And I've been worried about you too," he finished. "You know how you get when you've been sitting around in darkness too long...all gloomy and stuff?"

He had to admit he had a point.

"Anyway, the second you need a hand, let me know and I'll back you up—like always," Sora boasted to his amusement. "And maybe I'll get to meet this Elsa lady while I'm at it!"

"You'd probably like her," Riku stated. _As if he doesn't like everyone already_. "She's pretty funny at least."

The younger warrior barked out a laugh. "That's pretty rich, coming from you. Okay they're calling my name on the runway, seeya!"

"Bye." The feed cut out, and Riku set the mirror down on his bed, looked up from it, and jumped.

A person stood staring at him from the open doorway. "I heard...what you said."

Riku swallowed numbly, heart beating in overdrive. _Great job. Way to spill the beans just hours after Elsa trusted you to keep a secret!_

And then the redhead took a staggering step into the room. "You really think Elsa's funny? The queen, _that_ Elsa?" She continued, looking either flummoxed by the situation or just plain dizzy. "Like, 'Ha-Hah' Funny? She tells you jokes and stuff? God, I don't remember the last time I even made her smile. Some sister I turned out to be," she groaned, tilting her head downward with a defeated expression before coming back up to him, eyes burning. "What makes _you_ so special anyway? Y'know, other than your good looks...your piercing blue eyes...athletic physique...and that whole magical fairytail kingdom backstory we both grew up hearing about...what _besides_ those things?!" She stood still then, hanging an arm in the air, pointing an index finger in his general direction accusingly.

The Keyblade master was sure there was something he was supposed to say at this point, but his mouth returned a blank.

_Wait...sister?_ His mind rebooted itself as he opened his mouth again. "Princess Anna—"

She gasped suddenly. "You know of me!" She struck another dramatic pose. "Of course you do...I see my reputation precedes me."

"...You're drunk." Riku narrowed his eyes and stated the obvious.

"No _you're_ a drunk," She countered, restarting with some difficulty her walk towards him. "By the way, that new barrel of wine they just installed in the cellar? It's _reallly_ good, I mean delish." She slurred, only feet away from him now. "Imported from somewhere, I dunno. I've been sipping on it over in the dressing room till our seamstress kicked me out 'cuz I'm _'annoying'._" She accentuated zestfully with air quotes. "And then Gerda told me you were still here so I looked _eeeeverywhere_ for you and now here you are!" The last part of her sentence came out muffled as she collapsed onto the foot of his bed.

Riku stared at the back of her head, lying prone and face-first into the mattress. "And you didn't think to look in the guest room."

Anna's muffled groan rang through the sheets, as she stuck her head back up to look at him. "We have like a _dozen_ guest rooms—seventeen, to be exact. And you're the first one to use one of these in thirteen years, don't you feel lucky?"

Her head dropped back down like a stone and she rolled over on her side. "Should've guessed you'd be in the room with the open door." her face grew a wistful look all of a sudden. "There isn't a whole lot of that around here." And for a moment she laid just like that, running a finger along the patterns on the bed spread, Riku mutely following the digit.

"Hey...Mister Magic Kingdom Guy?" she addressed him at last, and again he gave her his attention. "Whatever you're here for...thanks for talking to Elsa." She kept her eyes fixed on the spread, emotion breaking through the shroud of inebriation. "I'm glad she's got someone she can open up to...even if that someone can't be me."

_She really has no idea...how can she not have any idea?_ "Hey...your sister's a good girl. I'm sure she just wants you to be happy," he said at last, laying a reassuring hand over on her shoulder.

She stared at the appendage with heavy eyelids. "I like youuu," she drawled, blinking slowly. "You and Elsa should go get murrrd—" She trailed off, eyes shutting for good.

"Okay...? Hey!" Riku shook her.

Her head popped right back up. "Hey! What that?"

"You're not going to sleep in here," the man said simply.

"What! I'm not asleep...how can I..." Riku waited for her to finish her sentence until loud snores began to emerge from within her ginger mop.

Irritated, he took a finger and pressed it sharply into her side. "Huh?!" Anna perked up again, looked confusingly over both her shoulders, before looking back at the Keyblade master. "Hey! You know what? I should take this back to my own room!"

With newfound alertness she immediately picked herself up and glided to the doorway, curling her hand into a gun shape and clicking her tongue. "Good talk!" was all she said, and then was gone.

Riku wordlessly tucked himself in with a smile and shut his eyes.

* * *

On the upper deck of the Southern Seas vessel a lone man stood frontmost at the bow, watching the waves ride them from below, up and down. He'd spent most of his journey down below, but as the time grew near and a helmsman informed him that Arendelle was within scant hours of their sight, he couldn't help but to push forward, anxious to lay his eyes on the well-known and talked about port and fjords.

A sound to his left caught Prince Hans' attention. A large raven stared back at him, claws digging into the rail.

* * *

Just in case anyone is still unaware, I guess now's a good time to explain that I've played around with the lore and general timeline of the Kingdom Hearts series. Most notably, the events have all been...sort of stretched out so that everyone's a bit older. So Riku in this story is 20, Sora 21 and so on and so forth. But everyone in Frozen is the same age as they were in the movie.

A few more things are kinda subtly different from the games but it's not really worth elaborating on I don't think. You'll get the gist of it I'm sure. Alright, peace.


	4. Drop it Like it's Hot

Before we begin, I'd like to apologize. Putting this chapter together took a lot longer than I anticipated; in fact, even now I'm only halfway done, but it's gone on long enough that I might as well break it off here and not leave you waiting any longer. After all, this is the first chapter where I'm pulling straight from source material and I wanted to make sure and put a lot of effort into not making it feel like _too_ much of a retread for you readers. I sincerely hope it worked out okay, but there you go. I'll see if I can get part 2 out before a week from now, but no promises. Enjoy.

* * *

**Diamond in the Dust**

**Chapter Four: Drop it Like it's Hot**

* * *

Elsa lifted her chest, dragging smoky incense and the smell of crisp saltwater through her nostrils; tracing in her mind's eye the distance between her closed eyelids to the rows above, crashing cherubic harmonies in waves down below in a straight line; pushing the air out through her mouth with a soft shudder as she finally opened her eyes, wincing at the thin trail of condensation escaping her lips.

She extended her gaze and over a hundred pairs of eyeballs stared back and soaked in her royal visage. She smiled tightly and fought to focus on anything else but the jittery mess a mere layer inside as the clergyman behind her prepared his scripture and she caught mere glimpses of life in halted, hushed frequencies as her internal safe of security and control rapidly tread water. Her own sister, distracted and whimsical as ever, sending a skittish wave at some spot near the front of the congregation. Remembering how to breathe. Gerda, one of the castle caretakers she's known all her life, wiping a prideful tear and radiating warmth. The wonderful caress of her ears against the choir's crescendo—oh, the things she would do to be able to lay her raw nerves against such song!—Sunlight pooling out the windows in a stream of reverence. Remembering how to breathe. The increasing tightness she felt inside her coronation gown, hand remaining placidly on top of the other in its abstinence from pulling...clawing at the woven fabric. Pondering whether that woman really got the right measurements. Pondering if she'd needed her normal glasses after all. Pondering what else could go wrong. Remembering to—

"Your Majesty..." Elsa blinked. A hundred pairs of eyeballs stared back and soaked in her royal visage.

It was funny, she reflected as she tugged at the fabric covering her hands one finger at a time, how in all the weeks of massive preparation, her role at the center of it was so simple and straightforward: show up, hold the orb and scepter, and don't freak out or die long enough for _someone_ to produce an heir. Granted, not _as_ funny as all her neighboring territories would find it for her to screw even that up.

_Let them laugh_. The blonde frowned at both the clarity and choler behind her thoughts. _They don't have to know how scary the world really is, so at least I can let someone enjoy it._

Elsa clenched her teeth and shook the venomous notion from her head, and bit back a gasp as the Holy Regalia shimmered with frost under her bare palms. She tried to focus on her breathing and not the exact number of people she nearly carelessly exposed to the storm, not to mention the thousands waiting outside. She gathered smoky incense and the smell of crisp saltwater into her lungs...too late. One hundred and fifty-seven.

No. One hundred and fifty-eight. There was one guest, at least, whom the record keepers would most assuredly miss from their lists, whom any bouncer would be evaded from. It was as like he confounded all of the world's attempts to count him among it, a true outsider looking in, as his strikingly blue eyes met her own all the way from the back of the procession, dressed in a spare guard uniform so as to not attract attention, pale locks sticking out from underneath the slightly oversized hat. How was she to look at even her personal invitation as but mere formality, to a man who bypassed locks and tumblers, gates and barriers alike with surgical, yet almost casual efficiency? The fact was a bittersweet cocktail swirling in her hand, shades of intimidation and a tangible danger shaken with ice, strained and layered over pleasant smiles, warm regard and, to her abject horror, thrill.

She squinted her eyes as the enigmatic man moved his lips. Blood rushed across her face as she deciphered the meaning of his hidden message.

_You are not alone._

She didn't dare set her eyes near his region of the cathedral for the remainder of the ceremony, pushing it from her consciousness just as she did the not-quite-so awkward weight of the crown adorning her head.

Riku had rarely felt so thoroughly, perfectly alone.

He tucked in his bottom lip as ornate chandelier light cut into the dimness of the hallway through the cracked door to the ballroom. The Key wielder peeked through the opening and exposed himself to an anatomy of nightmares. Endless buffets, bottomless reservoirs of alcohol, and row after row of stiff, synchronized movement. Theirs was a land of shiny objects and floating dresses in the backdrop of live, tuxedoed music and the surely untold hours of labor that must have taken place to set it all up. Nothing that he shouldn't have expected from a royal ceremony after all, but it left him to wonder how exactly Sora so easily handled continually dealing with all this...rich.

"My, Sir Riku. You look as if you've never seen a party before." Even though his honed senses picked up her crisp, airy aura and footsteps on the marble floor from a distance, the warrior couldn't help but be taken aback to encounter the newly-christened monarch, her visage a different experience altogether than than seeing her crowned from afar. The blonde woman had a way about her to seem larger than life, a natural spark which shined past her title, her prestige, and perhaps even the sorcery locked inside.

"A party like this? Yeah...let's say it might as well be."

Her sardonic expression softened nearly imperceptibly. "To be honest...I think I'm the same way." The woman reached back, running a soothing hand along some of the length of her impressive cape. "Are they different where you're from?"

Riku suppressed the snickering island boy within him. "To say the least...maybe I'll get to show you one of these days." He nearly regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth, but Queen Elsa merely snickered daintily, not appearing altogether offended at the invitation. "And maybe you could show me something about whatever dance these guys are doing out there?"

This time her laugh wasn't quite as dainty. "Haha! Keep dreaming." Elsa then looked over her shoulder, spying a grandfather clock on the wall. "It's going to be late soon. I suppose I shouldn't keep the rest of my guests waiting. What do you say?" She asked him with a hand propped on her waist, indicating toward her offering elbow.

Riku stared at it incredulously. "Isn't there supposed to be a strict protocol to this kind of thing?"

"Protocol is meaningless in this context," Elsa waved off the concern. "None of these people have stepped foot in here in at least thirteen years, how would they know? Just keep up the soldier act for ten seconds and it'll be none the wiser."

The Keyblade master hesitated for just another moment before caving and linking arms with the monarch. Stealth was overrated anyway, or so was the old standby of a certain spiky-haired knucklehead.

He locked eyes with Elsa, waiting until she nodded her approval before he reached with his free hand and pushed open the door, letting lantern and candlelight envelop them, apprehension drowned in a mannerly round of applause.

"My esteemed guests, please join me in welcoming...Queen Elsa of Arendelle!"

* * *

"Princess Anna of Arendelle!"

For as bad as the stories the teenager heard a hangover could be, she stumbled upon the day and discovered she couldn't have picked a better one to have experienced her first. She breathed deeply, and the typhoon in her stomach stilled under the heavenly, permeating aroma of chocolate and baked goods. She stretched out her eyelids to take in every color and light of festivity, felt it take wind from under and soar her spirits out above the dull pain between her temples. And as for her dizziness...there was one beacon in particular, her rock, to guide her, bringing balance to the slowly spinning room around her by seeming to make everything revolve around it, its confident stature, its kind aura, it chiseled jaw, and she thinks she felt some nice muscles under there earlier as well...but she digressed.

In fact, never mind all of that, because neither symptom nor cure sparked her anxiousness quite like the sister-shaped mystery box over to her left. Some days, those incredibly rare days she appeared in more than passing, she was akin to a powder keg, projecting stress until her own footsteps felt heavier; others, especially when the older woman didn't know Anna was watching, she was every inch the stately, graceful, and capable queen she's always known she was, deep down. All those moments, so far between, the dichotomy so discombobulating, led her unable to even ascertain a safe distance from the other woman. She settled for mere obedience, shuffling her feet and drowning in tension and ineptitude, lest she ruin such a proud occasion.

"...Hi."

The soft-spoken greeting very nearly failed to register with the younger woman. She broke her concentration on the opposite wall and—deep breath—dared to create eye contact with the serenely smiling blonde. "H-hi _me_?"

Elsa simply nodded. Anna's heart skipped. Cliches aside, it really was as if the air was a little easier to breathe to think that her only family possibly just maybe didn't hate her guts. Oh wait, she was talking again. "—must have worked all night on them, so I'm glad it paid off. You look beautiful."

The dresses. Anna thought back to the morning, waking up bleary eyed to the emerald-colored stunner, a note from her new favorite seamstress stamped to the breast promising to hang out again (should her highness deem it whatever whatever). "Yeah, I'll say...and you l-look beautifuller."

Wait, what? Was there something wrong with her brain to make basic communication so difficult for her? "I-I mean..."

But the queen softly laughed away her concern over her spastic monkey babble. "Thank you, Anna. I understand what you meant."

"Oh...okay. Good." Anna let herself ease out of the tautness in her own muscles. A thought, a vaguely juicy thought came to her just then, but she made sure to think over her words carefully. She wouldn't forgive herself for carelessly starting another fight with her sister at this point in such a seldom-seen amicable conversation. "So...may I ask if your appointment went well? Y-yesterday, I mean?"

"Indeed, it did go well."

Elsa continued smiling, but left nothing else for the teenager to pick up on. "So, the guy is legit? Did he tell you anything about the outside world?"

"Perhaps...and _perhaps_, one day you might hear a little something yourself." The blonde slowly quirked an eyebrow and spoke with a playfully low cadence. Was this an illusion? She nearly rubbed at her eyes; Had she grown since the last time she saw her? No, that couldn't be, Anna just saw her yesterday. Was she wearing heels then, maybe?

"Your Majesty..." Anna had opened her mouth and made to continue the best conversation of her adult life, but their servant Kai had walked up and cleared his throat; both women turned to him and he offered them an apologetic smile before introducing their guest. "The Duke...of Weaseltown."

Riku thought he had steeled himself for the worst of it as he took the Queen's arm and let the But as he felt Elsa's gentle guidance toward center stage a wave of sickness enveloped him and no sooner had the woman set a single foot up on the elevated platform was he forced to excuse himself out of the spotlight to hug his back to the nearest wall.

He again fruitlessly skimmed his eyes over the assembly, biting his lip in frustration. _This is no stage fright. There's a presence here. Someone who wasn't here this morning._ He swallowed hard. _Not too surprising that someone could sneak in...after all, that's how I got here. Still..._

He wracked through his memory banks but still couldn't be sure if it was something like what he's encountered before. He couldn't even trace "it" to a source, expanding out and blanketing the ballroom like a thick, rolling fog. More than simply smelling the aura, it was as if he breathed it in place of air, a thought that made the Key bearer's stomach perform its second complex sequence of gymnastics.

"Thankless job to be a guard, eh?"

Riku snapped his eyes open. He hadn't even noticed the elderly, hunched-over waiter approaching until the clean white glove rested on his shoulder. Champagne bubbled foamed at the top of the last flute on his platter. He stared wordlessly as the old man took the glass from the bottom of its delicate stem and offered it up to him.

The warrior looked from it to the waiter's wrinkled smile and raised an eyebrow at the bubbling liquid. "Thanks, but I'm pretty sure it's against policy to drink on the clock."

"Hahaha! One drink ain't gonna hurt you, my boy!" He cackled and slapped his empty tray jovially across Riku's shoulder. "Come on...I insist. Besides, I think we both know that some rules are made to be broken."

Riku searched for the meaning in that last statement as he finally took the glass but only the enigmatic gleam from the waiter's spectacles was revealed to him. He brought the drink to his nose and inhaled deeply, detecting fruit, carbonation, and the burn of alcohol but nothing else.

"Thank—" He looked back up and found himself alone once again. "...you. Yeah, like hell I'm gonna drink this now."

Riku turned his head left and right for a suitable houseplant to discreetly dispose of the booze before noticing a small piece of paper fluttering to the ground by his feet. He picked it up, squinting at the small print of the message. He scratched his ear and tilted his head upwards down the long corridor along the opposite end of the wall. He read over the text again, narrowed his eyes, and took off running.

_Fifth pillar down the hallway. Take the balcony on the right. Look over to the rose bush. GIM_.

GIM. Riku chuckled despite himself in incredulity.

_Got it memorized?_

* * *

A kaleidoscope. A pinwheel. A merry-go-round. A whirlpool. That group of squirrels she saw outside her window as they feasted on apparently fermented berries. The royal registrar's head when he found out about her ordering fermented berries by the crate as he poured and puzzled over Castle Arendelle's budget.

These were the things that merged with the world according to Anna as the sprightly old Duke personally surrounded the princess in perpetual motion hell.

Just as soon as she laid eyes on him, he already half-circled her and shouted to the back of her head. "Bet you didn't think an old man like me had moves like this, did you?!"

A small child wailed from some distant corner of the room. "That's...great, but—"

"And here's a secret move back from my days we called The Clop!" Which he was gracious enough to do, directly on top of her foot with the grace of a bull horse rockslide.

Anna tried to blink the tears away but the Duke enthusiastically pressed on, standing at her side, his face inches from hers. "And _speaking_ of secrets, I'd bet there's a couple of real juicy ones buried somewhere in this castle, eh? Like, why they shut the gates in the first place, perhaps?"

One of his hands found hers while the other captured the small of her back. _Oh no. Don't try to dip me. Please don't dip me—_

Her spine bent backwards, sending several loud pops through her body, and the world turned upside down. "You know anything about that?"

"Um...no?" In fact, the only secret she knew was what kind of expensive mishap was in store for that suit of his in another minute or two. _Somebody help me...Elsa? Guards? God...?_

Anna stared pleadingly at the empty platform just within her sight. Her sister had..oh-so graciously declined the Duke's offer to join him on the dance floor, looked distractedly over at the far corner o the room, and then excused herself to go powder her nose or something, volunteering the younger woman in her place. She'd make sure to tell her all about it when she came back. If she didn't die first.

"Excuse me." Miraculously, Anna's back realigned itself as a strong pair of arms pulled her upright. In her daze, she leaned her head against his shoulder without question. "You wouldn't mind if I take this next dance, would you?"

In a dark recess of her mind she registered the Duke's mildly flustered voice. "Oh..um, of course, Prince Hans..but—!"

She gasped. "Hans?!" The princess jumped to life, stepping back from the young man and greeting him with what she hoped looked like something in the neighborhood of "properly".

He merely smiled in return, taking her outstretched hand and placing a soft kiss upon it. "My lady." Anna melted; her stomach flipped and the deities of light, love, beauty, and order from the old yore smiled, rejoiced, and sprinkled their blessing from up high. For a moment, everything made sense.

She giggled dumbly and hopped from one foot to the next like a child in line to the bathroom. "Yeah, let's do it! Um...the dance...thing...that. Right?" _Nailed it?_

Hans smirked and squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Right." _Nailed it._

"Oh, and before I forget...Duke?" Suddenly he looked back to the old gentleman. "Here's an associate of mine who's been quite anxious to meet you and discuss possibly making a transaction. Here he comes now, in fact." He gestured to a man approaching from the crowd, but faltered. "Um..I apologize, but I seem to have forgotten what your official title is."

The man finally stepped into full view; Anna was struck by his tall frame, covered in flowing and exotic red robes. "My title is Vizier, but you need not worry yourself over it. Sir Jafar will more than suffice."

Hans nodded in satisfaction. "Well then, Sir Jafar, I leave you to your business." He turned back to face Anna. "Shall we, your highness?"

"Oh! Yeah, of course..." Anna could do nothing but sheepishly agree and allow him to pull her away from the dance floor, staring dumbstruck at the man's appearance. How had she not noticed him before? She would've sworn a guy looking that strange would stick out in such a conservatively dressed congregation like a sore thumb.

She tried to listen to the man's words as he leaned down closely to greet the Weselton noble before they disappeared into the crowd. "I hear you have quite the affinity for secrets, am I mistaken? Well I just so happen to have quite the secret lodged here in this staff of mine, but you'll have to look real close to find it..."


End file.
